Where to eat near the airport in Calgary
There’s a tidy handful of restaurants orbiting the Calgary International Airport – you just need to know where to look. This list will take you from the tarmac to Canadian-contemporary, Chinese and Mediterranean spots in and around nearby hotels as well as in the immediately adjacent neighbourhoods of Falconridge, Country Hills and Castleridge.
Tonic Kitchen + Bar
22 Aero Cres NE, Calgary, AB T2E 7Y5Just northwest of the airport on Aero Crescent Northeast, Hotel Clique features the cheerful Tonic Kitchen + Bar, which serves three squares including breakfast to go. Food is upscale comfort cuisine, featuring dinner entrees such as an Alberta pork-and-beef burger, Alberta beef tenderloin, mac and cheese as well as haddock fish tacos. The signature sips here are tonic cocktails prepared with gin or vodka and locally made Porter’s Tonic.
T.Pot China Bistro
100-9650 Harvest Hills Blvd NE, Calgary, AB T3K 0B3In Country Hills, just west of Deerfoot Trail where Airport Trail becomes 96th Avenue Northeast, you’ll find one of the city’s best Chinese dinner and dim-sum spots at Harvest Hills Crossing. Dim sum time is especially busy, and evenings also hop. Dinner in the plush main dining room features a robust menu of predominantly seafood dishes, but also Chinese-Western dishes such as ginger beef and contemporary Asian fare such as fried chicken with wasabi and black sesame mayo. You can also take a seat at the casual in-house Hong Kong-style café.
Jerusalem Shawarma & Bakery
204-30 Country Hills Landng NW, Calgary, AB T3K 5P4Serving Mediterranean food in Country Hills Landing, a deliciously diverse complex of restaurants and shops, this small spot is a real hidden gem. Order falafel, chicken-shawarma and beef-shawarma sandwiches and platters at the central counter, and settle into a cozy booth (or order your food to go). Also available: shish tawouk, beef donair and beef kabob platters, and more.
Raja Palace Restaurant
124-40 Country Hills Landng NW, Calgary, AB T3K 5P4Serving South-Indian food in Country Hills Landing, Raj Palace is another busy little spot with a great reputation. Highly recommended, the dosa selection is stuffed with a variety of veggies, chicken, lamb and more, and served with sambar and chutney. Ditto, the uttapams, a pair of pizza-like dosas. Also find Bombay-style tiffin dishes and regional faves such as chicken tikka, curries and vegetarian plates as well as Indo-Chinese fusion dishes such as Manchurian chicken.
Smooth Curry Thai Cuisine
1301-9650 Harvest Hills Blvd NE, Calgary, AB T3K 0B3Another choice Harvest Hills Crossing eatery, Smooth Curry Thai Cuisine is operated by husband and wife Thai chefs Sam Sanongphan and Anna Yooyen. Featuring dishes prepared as they are in Thailand, the menu is topped by savoury and aromatic, green-curry chicken – the house specialty. Also recommended, try the massaman curry, deep-fried tilapia with green-mango salad and the pineapple fried rice is served in a hollowed pineapple half.
Eleven Kitchen & Bar
11 Freeport Cres NE, Calgary, AB T3J 0T4Just northeast of the intersection of Deerfoot Trail and Airport Trail Northwest, this casual upscale restaurant and bar is located in the Wyndham Garden Hotel Calgary Airport. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, Eleven Kitchen & Bar incorporates local ingredients in its Euro-Canadian cuisine. Evening entrees include strip loin with spaetzle, crispy salmon and rack of lamb rubbed with cumin and cinnamon. A separate past-pizza-sandwich menu is served in the lounge. The liquor menu includes beer and wine flights.
Moxie's Grill & Bar
29 Hopewell Way NE, Calgary, AB T3J 4V7Adjacent to the Sandman Hotel & Suites Calgary Airport, this Moxie’s location is just a short drive south of the airport’s main access. Serving Western-Canadian breakfast, lunch and dinner in a comfortable setting, the place is equally fine for casual dining and business meals. Dinner features include pizza, pasta, burgers and steaks as well as mains such as chipotle-mango chicken and lemon-herb salmon.
La Jawab Indian & Hakka Chinese Cuisine
900-5075 Falconridge Blvd NE, Calgary, AB T3J 3K9Southeast of the airport in Falconridge, this cozy redbrick hideaway serves a mix of popular Indian dishes as well as less familiar Chinese-Indian fusion dishes. Indian entrees include chicken tikka masala and shrimp malai curry as well as vegetarian selections such as navratan korma and malai kofta. Sweet-and-spicy Chinese-influenced plates include hot-and-sour chicken Manchurian and chili-garlic prawns.
Emerald Palace Restaurant
54-55 Castleridge Blvd NE, Calgary, AB T3J 3J8Enjoying a great reputation for its delicious food and pleasant service, this small Cantonese and Peking restaurant ain’t fancy, but if you’re craving delicious Chinese comfort food and lots of it, this is the place. Located just southeast of the airport in the Castleridge neighbourhood, Emerald Palace serves dine-in and takeout food. Find Chinese-Western favourites from chop suey to egg foo yong as well as entrees such as crowd-pleasing palace chicken, spicy Szechuan squid and steamy mapo tofu with pork.
